This was my 3rd solo cruise on the Gem, and the worst experience by far. The cleanliness and maintenance of the ship has deteriorated a lot since the first time I sailed; there are far fewer crew members on board, so much so that it can take 2 hours to get through dinner in the main dining rooms. Food arrived cold quite frequently; the entertainment was poor compared to other cruises.

I changed cabins on the third day of the cruise (went from an oceanview on deck 4 in the very front of the ship - a TERRIBLE experience in rough seas - to an oceanview on deck 5 midship. When the gentleman from customer service showed me the new cabin, there were two bottles of wine and two trays of chocolate-covered strawberries on the table in the cabin - obviously having sat there for 3 days - quite disgusting, to say the least. But I was much happier with that cabin location.

About 2 weeks prior to the cruise, the prices dropped to rock bottom, I can only assume so they could fill the ship, so there were a LOT of people irritated at having paid more for an inside cabin than a lot of new bookings paid for a balcony. There were many more heavy drinkers on this cruise than I've ever experienced before, and a lot more smokers. Read more